Sewing guide for pin strip

ABSTRACT

A device for use in the manufacture of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel which guides the inserting and positioning of a pin strip into a folded portion of the drapery heading and which guides the stitching of the pin strip onto the drapery heading. The guide device includes a base portion, upper and lower plate-like elements supported from the base portion and extending therefrom in parallel spaced apart relationship. The guide device further includes a rod also supported from the base portion and extending alongside of the lower platelike element in parallel spaced apart relationship therewith.

limited States Patent [191 Lawson 51 May 22, 1973 154] SEWING GUIDE FORPIN STRIP [22] Filed: Jan. 2, 1971 [21] App1.No.: 194,847

[52] US. Cl ..112/l53, 33/169 B, 160/348,

223/35 [51] Int. Cl. ..D05b 35/10 [58] Field 01 Search ..1l2/l36,144-146,

2/1954 Gellman ..l12/136 9/1968 Euzarraga ..223/34 PrimaryExaminer-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-William L. Falk AttorneyJohnR. Walker, 111

[57] ABSTRACT A device for use in the manufacture of the pleated uppersection of a drapery panel which guides the inserting and positioning ofa pin strip into a folded portion of the drapery heading and whichguides the stitching of the pin strip onto the drapery heading. Theguide device includes a base portion, upper and lower plate-likeelements supported from the base portion and extending therefrom inparallel spaced apart relationship. The guide device further includes arod also supported from the base portion and extending alongside of thelower platelike element in parallel spaced apart relationship therewith.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEW 3.734.040

INVENTOR. JACK M. LAWSON BY KIA/412 SEWING GUIDE FOR PIN STRIPBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates generally to sewing guides and more specifically to guides forinstalling pin strips in the pleated upper section of a drapery panel.

2. Description of the Prior Art Pin strips heretofore have beeninstalled without the use of a guide. Without the use of a guide,problems arise when the pin strip is inserted into the folded portion ofthe drapery heading because the pin strip is hidden between the layersof fabric. The positioning and stiching of the pin strip is thus madeextremely difficult.

A preliminary patentability search revealed the following U. S. patents:Heyer US. Pat. No. 74,533; Hilton U.S. Pat. No. 944,094; Hoffman U.S.Pat. No. 2,505,897; Gellman US Pat. No. 2,669,755; and Romano US. Pat.No. 3,350,787. None of the above references show or suggest the presentinvention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed towardsovercoming the disadvantages and problems in the installation of pinstrips in the heading of draperies. The concept of the present inventionis to provide a device to guide the installation of the pin strip in theheading of the pleated upper section of a drapery panel.

The guiding device includes guiding elements and stops to position thedrapery heading, a rod means to hold and position the pin strip, and aguiding edge and indicating marks to guide the stitching of the pinstrip to the drapery heading.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of the sewingguide of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the sewing guide.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the sewing guide showing a pin strip in phantomlines and the sewing guide in solid lines.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the sewing guide as taken on line IVIV ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the pin strip which is positioned by thesewing guide of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the pin strip as taken on line VI-VI ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a somewhat schematic view showing the insertion of the sewingguide and pin strip into a folded portion of a drapery heading.

FIG. 8 is a somewhat schematic view showing the guiding of the stitchingoperation.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the folded portion of drapery headingafter the stitching of the pin strip to the fabric.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the folded portion of the drapery headingshowing the finished pleat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT v The sewing guide 11 (see FIGS.1 4) of the present invention includes an upper plate-like guidingelement 13 and a lower plate-like guiding element 15 in overlappingparallel spaced relationship to each other. Elements l3 and 15 arepreferably substantially flat and rectangular with the distal or lowerends thereof being preferably rounded as best seen in FIG. 3. Upperguiding element 13 and lower guiding element 15 are integrally joined toa spacer 17 and a plate 19 to form a base portion or handle 21. A rod 23which extends alongside the lower guiding element 15 in spaced parallelrelationship therewith is supported from handle 21, by suitable means,as by being embedded in handle 21 or suitably adhered thereto. Element15 is preferably formed of a somewhat flexible material as an acrylicplastic, and, if desired, elements l3, l5, and handle 21 may be formedintegrally of the same plastic. The lower edge 25 of spacer 17 acts asan upper fabric stop, and the lower edge 27 of plate 19 acts as a lowerfabric stop, as will be better understood in the description to follow.Upper guiding element 13 is provided with a guiding edge 29perpendicular to edges 25 and 27 and is provided with indicia orindicating marks 31 along edge 29. Upper guiding element 13 extendsbeyond lower guiding element 15 to form a protruding portion 33 at theend opposite handle 21. It will be understood that, if desired, elements13, 15 and the remaining parts of guide 11 may be formed of othermaterial without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention, as for example, being formed of wire configured generally inthe shape of the outline of elements 13 and 15, and the remaining parts.

A pin holder or strip 35 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) is of typical constructionas described in the E. Strube U. S. Pat. No. 2,1 15,593, which isincorporated herein by reference. Briefly, the pin strip 35 consists ofa tube-like portion 37 with a web portion 39 attached thereto. Apertures41 are provided in the tubelike portion 37 of the pin strip 35 for thereception of a typical curtain rod or pole receiving hook, as explainedin the Strube patent. Holes 43 are provided in the web portion 39 of thepin strip 35 to allow ease in the tacking together of the pleats.

The steps in using the sewing guide 11 to install the pin strip 35 tothe drapery heading 45 are described below. First, the drapery heading45 is made in the typical way known to those skilled in the art. Next,the drapery heading 45 is preferably marked for pleats and spaces in asuitable manner known to those skilled in the art. The drapery heading45 is then folded together forming a pocket 47. The pin strip 35 isplaced on rod 23 of sewing guide 11 with rod 23 extending throughtubelike portion 37 and with the upper end of pin strip 35 beingcontiguous or adjacent edge 27, as shown in FIG. 3. The sewing guide 11with pin strip 35 is then placed into the pocket 47 (see FIG. 7). Theprotruding portion 33 of upper guiding element 13 is pressed against thefirst side 49 of pocket 47. This causes upper guiding element 13 to flexsomewhat to spread element 13 away from lower guiding element 15 and pinstrip 35 so that sewing guide 11 can be more easily started onto thedrapery heading with lower guiding element 15 and rod 23 with pin strip35 thereon being located between first side 49 and second side 51 ofpocket 47. The sewing guide 11 with pin strip 35 is then pushed into thepocket 47 of drapery heading 45, lower guiding element 15 and rod 23with pin strip 35 going into the pocket 47 and upper guiding element 13remaining outside of pocket 47. The sewing guide 11 is pushed into thepocket 47 until the edge 52 of first side 49 of pocket 47 is in abutmentwith the lower edge 25 of spacer l7 and the edge 53 of second side 51 ofpocket 47 is in abutment with the lower edge 27 of plate 19. The sewingguide can then be adjusted to have the guiding edge 29 of upper guidingelement 13 positioned at the desired location. If the drapery heading 45is marked for pleats and spaces, the guiding edge 29 should be locatedover the marks. In other words, the sewing guide 11 should be located tocorrectly position pin strip 35 at the rear of pocket 47 of the draperyheading 45. The next step is to stitch the pin strip 35 to the draperyheading 45 (see FIG. 8) while holding guide 11 in place by means oflight pressure on element 13. The pressure foot 55 of the sewing machine(not shown) is positioned against the guiding edge 29 of upper guidingelement 13 and moved along the guiding edge 29 until the needle 56 ofthe sewing machine reaches an indicating mark 31 on the upper guidingelement 13 which indicates that that pin strip 35 is completely stitchedto drapery heading 45 by stitches 57. It should be noted that any lengthofpin strip 35 and width of drapery heading 45 could be used withcorresponding markings on upper guiding element 13; typical marks of 3,3-%, and 4 inches are shown in the drawings. After the stitchingoperation, the sewing guide 11 is removed from the drapery heading 45 bypulling on the handle 21, leaving pin strip 35 attached to draperyheading 45. The pocket 47 is then folded and tacked (see FIGS. 9 and Thepocket 47 is folded back on pin strip 35 and tacked sewed by stitch 59,as shown in FIG. 10, through one or both holes 43 in web portion 39 ofpin strip 35.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated with respectto a preferred embodiment thereof, it is not to be so limited sincechanges and modifications may be made therein which are within the fullintended scope of the invention.

I claim:

1: A sewing guide for use in the positioning of a pin strip relative toa drapery comprising a base portion, upper and lower platelike elementssupported from said base portion and extending therefrom in overlappingparallel spaced apart relationship for receiving a portion of thedrapery therebetween, and a rod supported from said base portion andextending alongside of said lower platelike element in parallel spacedapart relationship therewith for slidably receiving a pin strip thereon.

2: The sewing guide of claim 1 in which said base portion includes stopmeans located contiguous with said upper and lower platelike elementsand with said base portion for engaging an edge of the drapery to locatesaid guide relative thereto.

3: The sewing guide of claim 2 in which said upper platelike elementincludes a straight guiding edge parallel with said rod andperpendicular to said stop means for guiding the stitching in sewing apin strip onto the drapery.

4: The sewing guide of claim 3 which includes indicia along said upperplatelike element.

5: The sewing guide of claim 1 in which said upper platelike element isformed of flexible material and extends beyond the end of said lowerplatelike element to provide a protruding portion.

6. A sewing guide for use in the positioning of a pin strip relative toa drapery comprising a base portion, flat upper and lower platelikeelements supported from said base portion and extending therefrom inoverlapping parallel spaced apart relationship for receiving a portionof the drapery therebetween, a rod supported from said base portion andextending alongside of said lower platelike element in parallel spacedapart relationship therewith for slidably receiving a pin strip thereon,said base portion including stop means located contiguous with saidupper and lower platelike elements and with said base portion forengaging an edge of the drapery to locate said guide relative thereto,said upper platelike element including a straight guiding edge parallelwith said rod and perpendicular to said stop means for guiding thestitching and sewing of a pin strip onto the drapery, indicia beingspaced along the length of said upper platelike element, and said upperplatelike element being formed of a flexible material and extendingbeyond the end of said lower platelike element to provide a protrudingportion.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3'734'O4O Dated May 22, 1973 Inventor s) JACK M LAWSON It is certifiedthat error appears in the above-identified patent and that said LettersPatent are hereby corrected as shown below:

On the cover sheet [22] Jan. 2, 1971" should read Nov. 2, 1971-- Signedand sealed this 20th day of November 1973.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M .YFLETCHER J R RENE D TEGTMEXER Attesting Officer ActingCommissioner of Patents U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE I. 0-36-331,

6. A sewing guide for use in the positioning of a pin strip relative toa drapery comprising a base portion, flat upper and lower platelikeelements supported from said base portion and extending therefrom inoverlapping parallel spaced apart relationship for receiving a portionof the drapery therebetween, a rod supported from said base portion andextending alongside of said lower platelike element in parallel spacedapart relationship therewith for slidably receiving a pin strip thereon,said base portion including stop means located contiguous with saidupper and lower platelike elements and with said base portion forengaging an edge of the drapery to locate said guide relative thereto,said upper platelike element including a straight guiding edge parallelwith said rod and perpendicular to said stop means for guiding thestitching and sewing of a pin strip onto the drapery, indicia beingspaced along the length of said upper platelike element, and said upperplatelike element being formed of a flexible material and extendingbeyond the end of said lower platelike element to provide a protrudingportion.